By Erika Kar
Hi. My name is Erika Kar and I am your new Mazama columnist. I just got the news and I am both beaming and pitting out (which translates into being both excited and terrified, which sums up just being an adult I think).
You most likely do not know me although I have lived in Lost River since August 2008, aside from two school years spent in Mexico. That part about living in Lost River pretty much sums up why you probably don’t know me. According to a Winthrop friend (who, by the way, once lived just up from the Weeman Bridge), “Lost River is like another country.” Yes it is, yes it is.
I am married to my husband, Christian, and we have two sons, Sebastian (almost 15) and Bellamy (14). We moved to the Methow Valley from Everett just before our kids started kindergarten. Our home had been our cabin and the Methow just called to us as the place where we wanted our kids to grow up and go to school. So, we packed ’er on up and moved over, never looking back. Christian and I have been in the coffee business for almost 28 years, and are fortunate enough to be able to run things from home with a trip over to the west side every few weeks.
Since I will be coming into your home weekly via the paper, there are some things you should know. If you already are done with me and don’t want to know any more, then stop reading here, take a black Sharpie and draw a moustache, beard and crazy eyebrows on my picture there. But, if you do want to know more — or are just bored out of your mind — read on.
• I like to write in lists. Not make lists, mind you. Just write in lists. It helps with my confusion about when to use colons and semicolons. It is also a tidy little way to get ideas across.
• I am pretty introverted, which also explains why you might not know me. But introverted doesn’t mean unfriendly or antisocial. I’m not the Unabomber (is that okay to say?).
• I have never done this before. Probably pretty obvious by now. Sorry.
• I might write something that could raise an eyebrow or two, but I never mean to make anyone feel bad. This is my usual disclaimer in life. I should just have it tattooed on my neck or something.
• I have some kooky ideas that could come up from time to time. But I hope that you find the kookiness to be a charming kooky and not a certified tin-foil-hat-wearing kooky.
I hope to provide you with some good reading fodder about the Mazama community every week, but unless you want to just hear about me, my family and my dog, Pablo, I’ll need some input from you upper valley people. Yes, you. Email me at erikajune6@yahoo.com. And if no one emails me, well, I’ll get out there and set up a little station at the Mazama Store and start grilling people. Or I’ll start making things up. Which could be fun.
